Prefabricated grid integration ticks all Linde’s boxes

Challenge

Linde, the world’s largest industrial gas company, required a grid integration solution to connect its new gasification plant in Singapore to the high-voltage power grid. The plant represents the biggest investment in the company’s history and when completed in 2022, the plant will be Linde’s largest gasification plant.

Crucially, the grid connection must be highly reliable and compact, with very short lead times and as little as possible installation work needed on-site to reduce costs and minimize the risk of delays.

Solution

Working closely with the customer, Hitachi ABB Power Grids proposed a complete prefabricated containerized gas-insulated substation that meets all Linde’s requirements.

The solution comprises of 10 bays of 66 kV gas-insulated switchgear, protection and control panels and all ancillary equipment in pre-assembled, pre-tested, container-sized modules, which were shipped as a single prefabricated unit, ready for speedy on-site installation.

Its exceptionally compact footprint measures only 30 x 10 x 6 meters, which is considerably smaller than an air-insulated alternative.

“Our prefabricated containerized substations shift assembly, installation and testing from the customer’s site to our integration yards, where the work is done in advance of delivery,” says Niklas Persson, Managing Director of Hitachi ABB Power Grids’ Grid Integration business. “This brings huge benefits for our customers in terms of lower carbon footprint while allowing to reduce time, costs and risks.” 

Impact

These modular containerized prefabricated grid and power quality solutions typically reduce project lead times by 30-40 percent and footprint significantly. They minimize the need for civil works, shorten installation times, cut the number of interfaces between equipment and suppliers and allow earlier energization, remarkably reducing their environmental impact.

This lowers the customer’s exposure to risk and creates a safer work environment by minimizing site activity.

Hitachi ABB Power Grids offers a comprehensive portfolio of modular containerized prefabricated grid integration solutions, based on air-insulated, gas-insulated or hybrid switchgear that are customizable in single or multiple modules according to needs. The solutions are used extensively by customers in a broad range of applications, including utilities, process industries, data centers, renewables, eMobility and transportation.

As part of our EconiQ offering, our containerized modular substation SF6-free switchgear solution eliminates CO2 equivalent emissions related to the insulation gas and has been proven to significantly reduce the carbon footprint throughout the total lifecycle.